Patriots Point Charleston SC

I went out of state for this one as you can tell I do quite a bit of traveling be it for business or vacation I always manage to have a good time and find something to do while I'm there.

This photo was taken at Patriots Point in Charleston South Carolina aboard the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier and shows me and my dad in front of the ships bell.

Patriots Point features the USS Yorktown, USS Clamagore, and USS Laffey as popular attractions along with it's Vietnam experience camp that allows you to see what a U.S. military camp looked like during Vietnam complete with sound effects, smoke, vehicles, and other exhibits to bring it to life.

The Yorktown is an Essex class aircraft carrier with several aircraft present on board, the Medal of Honor museum, space capsules, a theater, a restaurant, and tons of small passageways to climb through while exploring the ship. When you make your way onto the flight deck you get the added bonus of an exquisite view of the bridge spanning the harbor.

The USS Laffey is an Allen M Sumner class destroyer that earned the nickname "The Ship That Would Not Die" on D-Day after withstanding multiple hits during a bomber and kamikaze attack. The experience of the hell faced by the service personnel is laid out in extreme detail in the aft turret as you step back in time and experience the kamikaze attack with video, sound, and vibration plates to simulate gunfire. The simulation gets all too real when a kamikaze plane flies right at you, the screens erupt in flames, and the vibration plates go wild. It's only when this ends that you are greeted with the knowledge that the turret you're now in suffered a direct hit during the battle and all but a few of the crew in the turret lost their lives where you're now standing.

The USS Clamagore is a Balao class submarine and despite being in very bad disrepair and facing an unsure future as plans exist to sink her and turn her into an artificial reef she remains one of my favorite exhibits. The cramped quarters with bulkheads that require swinging through from handholds mounted on the top of them let you know very quickly that the life of a submarine crewman was one of little privacy, long hours, and untold hell.

The Vietnam camp polishes off the experience and gives you a somber reflection as you walk past the wall of dog tags representing the soldiers from South Carolina who gave their lives in the conflict. Once inside the camp, you're treated to exhibits featuring helicopters, PT boats, trucks, tanks, jeeps, and a full reproduction of a Vietnam camp right down to the machine gun with realistic sound attached to the guard tower. Several of the buildings in the camp house weapons, videos, and other wartime artifacts to further immerse yourself in the Vietnam era.

When you exit the camp you have the option of picking up photos taken when you arrived and heading into the gift shop to buy some goodies for the folks back home before heading to the parking lot with a bag of mixed feelings from the experience and a newfound respect for the men and women of the armed forces.

Patriots Point also serves as a departure point for Fort Sumter tours.